Zeit Zirkel—German for “Time Circle”—is drummer and composer Christian Finger’s reflection on the profound, almost uncapturable, experience of grief. It conveys the ways loss can seem to be on repeat rather than move forward. Finger carries it off with grace, bringing together trumpeter Ralph Alessi, guitarist Ben Monder, pianist Vadim Neselovskyi, and bassist Adam Armstrong, four musicians able to translate that weight into thirteen tracks that never feel like mourning for its own sake. The music moves through darkness toward genuine hope, making this one of the finest and most fully realized records Finger has made in his twenty-five years in New York.

These are songs about facing loss without a clarity that is rare. Rather than ampify or overstate the point, Finger lets thirteen beautifully played tracks do the work. Treat yourself to this deeply moving album.